Since then
by vintagedoxy
Summary: [Mir:San] The crux of Sango and Miroku's feelings lie perilously close to being destroyed. It was high time for some intervention, but who knew it would be a child?
1. I know your Game

**Title: **Since Then  
**Author: **Rachel Elizabeth  
**Email: **ceramicprincess (at) fanfiction (dot) net  
**Status: **Tentatively ongoing  
**Genre: **Romance/Comedy/Drama  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Warning: **Spoilers—uh, sort of?  
**Summary: **The crux of Sango and Miroku's feelings lie perilously close to being destroyed. It was high time for some intervention, but who knew it would be a child?  
**Proviso:** Su-weet me. C'mon, you know you want to.  
**Author's Comments: **So, no, this story isn't dead, but I can't promise that I will be updating it any time soon; we'll just have to let it ride out and see. Since posting _That Bleeding Heart_ I realized how messed up all my stories were and decided to go back and change the format. So, wah-lah, a new format. On a positive note, however, I have been tentatively working on the new chapter to this story. That should excite you, right? Especially since I had contemplated throwing this entire story away.  
**Feedback: **So, at this point, it would be greatly appreciated to fuel the muse.**  
Dedication: **To Jane, for helping me more than she knows with this story.

* * *

—_I know your Game—_

Sango quietly padded over to where the lake was concealed from sight by the trees and bushes, humming gently to herself. Kagome had gone home for a few days and as always, Inu Yasha had found that 'a few days' was too long and so he went to her world. However, Sango knew the real reason Inu Yasha had wanted to be alone with Kagome, it was very perceptible in the way Kagome would always swing her derrière playfully every time she 'accidentally' walked by Inu Yasha. Then he'd growl and they'd be off to Gods only knew where. It didn't bother her much, seeing the two lovers act the way they did around each other. It did, however bother her that she had to witness the blatant acts of sexuality from the two.

Perhaps she was jealous.

She didn't like that contemplation too much, because she still had Miroku. She had started to play games with him for a while now, but she doubted he evened realized it. Or, if he did, he said nothing about it, biding his time. She'd hear him sneak around the bushes as she was undressing or taking a bath and she'd make her body acutely discernible.

Today was no different.

At hearing that she was going to take a bath, he hadn't even looked up from where he was seated eating the Ramen that Kagome had left for the two. With Shippou staying in Kaede's hut and Sango and Miroku sleeping in altogether separate chambers, there was enough food for two. Sango had thought it queer that Miroku had said nothing to her, nor even looked up at her. It was as if he totally didn't care anymore about groping or seeing her naked. That of course, led to terrible thoughts about Miroku not desiring her anymore. Which was a ridiculous notion, because he still followed her to bathe. Shrugging the thought off nonchalantly, Sango went back to undressing. Then she heard the unmistakable rustle of the leaves and knew that he had come out yet again for another viewing.

Right on time.

Sango quietly turned around and closed her eyes, taking each piece of clothing off slowly, making sure that none of her body was unclear. Sliding into the water, she grabbed the soap that Kagome had left for her and started to lather.

* * *

Miroku wasn't stupid, but Sango was insulting his intelligence if she thought that he didn't know what was going on. The only thing he hadn't figured out was _why. _Ever since Kagome and Inu Yasha had become mates, Sango had been acting very strange. 

Especially towards him.

He couldn't say that he didn't like what she was offering, that was definitely not in question; the question had come to be what was he going to do about it. As usual, Sango had heard or sensed (he still wasn't sure which) his approach and started almost stripping for him. At first, he thought that perhaps he hadn't been heard, but when it kept happening over and over and Sango had purposely looked towards the bushes, she knew.

In that instant, he knew.

And to say the least, he was fed up with her game. He had finally resolved to end it all, today and had even resisted the urge to look up at her when she had said that she was going to go bathe.

That had lasted all of five minutes.

The more he sat near the fire and ate his Ramen, the more he was visualizing every gentle curve that he had seen many times before. At those thoughts, he had quietly gotten up and unconsciously started moving towards the lake.

This was it.

He was going to end it, he was going to go up to her and yell at her. She'd become pink in the face and probably hit him over the head with her boomerang, but it would finally be worth it to even have a smidgen of an idea of what exactly she was doing.

That was it.

That was when an idea struck him.

* * *

Looking through her peripheral vision, Sango expected to see Miroku crouched by the bushes, watching intently, but she didn't. In fact, she didn't see anything or feel anyone's presence, it was as if he had just gotten up and walked away. 

She didn't like that deliberation too much.

Promising herself that she would get back at him, she slowly got up and started to put on her clothes. Walking back to the village, she saw Miroku cleaning up the fire a bit and adding firewood to it. Not saying a word, she sat down, but when Miroku looked over at her, that lecherous grin was plastered on his face and he said, "Perchance I should go and bathe."

Sango gaped at this revelation.

He winked at Sango as he walked by her to go to the lake and she knew instantly that something was wrong. Grabbing her Ramen, she went to eating and tried not to think of what Miroku could possibly be up to now. Growling her frustration into her food, she finally got up and decided to go investigate what Miroku was _really_ doing. With the pretense that she was just going to have one quick peek, she left.

Grabbing her hiraikotsu, she walked.

When she finally came to the river, she silently peered through the bushes and her heart stopped. Miroku was in fact about to take a bath; he had unconsciously turned towards the bushes and was stripping. However, what got Sango so irritated was the slowness with which he was taking off his robes. Deciding that this had to be a ploy, Sango rushed through the bushes, and yelled at the monk, "Houshi-sama, what exactly do you think you're doing?"

He slowly turned towards her upturned, brightened face and said, "Why, Sango-chan I did not realize that you were near."

"Hah!"

Naked from the chest up, he quietly walked towards her and brushed her arm with his chest saying, "I know your game."

With that, he left.

No groping.

Nothing.


	2. Restlessness

**Title: **Since Then  
**Author: **Rachel Elizabeth  
**Email: **ceramicprincess (at) fanfiction (dot) net  
**Status: **Tentatively ongoing  
**Genre: **Romance/Comedy/Drama  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Warning: **Spoilers—uh, sort of?  
**Summary: **The crux of Sango and Miroku's feelings lie perilously close to being destroyed. It was high time for some intervention, but who knew it would be a child?  
**Proviso:** Su-weet me. C'mon, you know you want to.  
**Author's Comments: **So, no, this story isn't dead, but I can't promise that I will be updating it any time soon; we'll just have to let it ride out and see. Since posting _That Bleeding Heart_ I realized how messed up all my stories were and decided to go back and change the format. So, wah-lah, a new format. On a positive note, however, I have been tentatively working on the new chapter to this story. That should excite you, right? Especially since I had contemplated throwing this entire story away.  
**Feedback: **So, at this point, it would be greatly appreciated to fuel the muse.**  
Dedication: **To Jane, for helping me more than she knows with this story.

* * *

—_Restlessness—_

Sango felt so . . . _what do I feel? _She wasn't even sure what was going on. She couldn't feign that she didn't know what he had been talking about.

She knew.

Of course she knew, she had started the game with him. Instigated it. Added fuel to the fire, but she wasn't repentant. For what it was worth, seeing Miroku without his robes on . . . she grinned sheepishly. And when he had brushed against her, she had had to force herself not to shiver. She fathomed that she was turning into Miroku.

Miroku.

She had never uttered his name out loud, never dared to. Name-basis relationships couldn't be decent. Albeit, she did want to taste his name on her lips, hear how good it was going to resonate. "Miroku," she whispered, savoring the taste and the sound on her lips.

Miroku almost stopped breathing. He had been dawdling in walking away, too satisfied with his new revelation. When he was but five or ten feet away he had hear it.

His name, her lips.

He almost ran back to her. Almost, but it was his turn to play. That wasn't to say that he didn't stop to listen or imagine other more interesting things as to why she uttered his name with such longing. He was, however, going to outdo her at her own game.

When she returned to the village a while later, it was night. Miroku was probably thoroughly asleep in his room, thinking lecherous thoughts regarding a village girl. What she hadn't anticipated was finding was Miroku in her cabin, next to her bed on the floor, sleeping serenely. _What's he doing? _Sango thought desperately. Sango was sure that this had to be one of his ruses, when all the sudden Shippou came barreling into her room.

"Shippou, what's wrong?" Sango asked concernedly.

"Hi-ya Sango! I just wanted to tell you that . . . someone's-sleeping-in-Miroku's-room-tonight-because-Kaede-said-so-and-she-wanted-me-to-tell-you-to-let-you-know-he-was-gonna-sleep-in-here-with-you," he had jumbled his words together so fast Sango had trouble catching up and when she finally did catch up, Shippou had bolted.

Miroku was sleeping . . . in here . . . with her.

She didn't think that this was going to work, not with his roaming hands and the fact that she didn't know what she would do if she woke up to find him on top of her or worse . . . _wait. What am I saying? We've slept together out in the forest before, _she thought, resigning herself to the fact that she could deal. She looked over at the sleeping Miroku.

Or not.

Forcing herself to tiptoe over to him to make sure he was asleep, she crawled over him quietly and slipped under her covers. It was difficult to go to sleep knowing that Miroku was lying right next to the bed. She wasn't sure why she was having such trouble, but there it was.

The admission.

That she was having trouble going to sleep because the thought of Miroku laying next to her sleeping soundly gave her gooseflesh and she wasn't sure why. He wasn't _doing_ anything, just sleeping undisturbed.

Albeit, next to _her_ bed.

After she turned over onto her other side where she couldn't look down and see Miroku, she was positive that she would fall asleep. However despite her best attempts, a half of an hour passed and another . . . and another. Still sleep eluded her and she sighed deeply in thought and stared harder at the ceiling.

"What is troubling you so, Sango-chan?" Miroku asked pointedly.

When she heard Miroku's voice she about jumped out of her skin, yelling at him, "Houshi-sama I thought that you were asleep!"

Miroku grinned in the darkness and sat up next to her bed. "I have been awake since Shippou entered and told you of the newcomer." Sango huffed in disbelief and didn't say a word, too angered that he had lain next to her and heard her restlessness. She wasn't sure if she was ready to find out if he had known why she was restless. Though she was sure that he knew why, especially the way he'd been acting after today.

"Why didn't you _say _something, Houshi-sama?"

Instead of answering her, he asked, "Sango,"—at the familiarity of this statement, she blushed in the darkness and thanked the Gods that he couldn't see—"You said my name this afternoon, I would love for it to come out of your beautiful mouth again." Leave it to Miroku to sound as though he were pleading and being lecherous in the same instant.

Only Miroku.

So, why could she think his name with no trouble, but the thought of saying his name make her repulse? She knew the answer to that of course and that was of course, because she wanted to be familiar with him in her _head_ so that he wouldn't hurt her because she wouldn't let him. If she allowed herself to become familiar with him _outside_ her thoughts, he was very liable to muck everything up.

He was still a lecher.

"You are avoiding my question, but it is just as well, I suppose. I'm going to bed." At that pronouncement, she rolled over and closed her eyes, willing herself to go to sleep.

Under his breath, Miroku muttered, "And you have effectively avoided mine." However, Miroku wasn't so dumb as to think that she could roll over and fall instantly asleep, no matter how much she wanted to snore to let him think otherwise. He wasn't through, and he certainly wasn't done reminding her of what she had put him through these last few weeks. Standing up, he glared down at the figure laying curled in the bed snoring loudly. Gently shaking her awake by her shoulder, he sat on the edge of the bed and waited.

And waited.

However, still nothing came from the supposed sleeping girl and he was fast becoming irritated. She would not ignore him this way, not after today she knew he was planning on revenge, thus why she had stayed away from the village today after his run in with her. Shaking her harder as to wake her, she only rolled onto her back, ignoring him still. He wouldn't be ignored for long, though. Walking outside, he grabbed the bucket next to the village well and walked to the lake.

Walking into her cabin again, he thought something had changed, but he wasn't sure. Everything in the room seemed to be quieter than normal and he couldn't see a figure on the bed anymore. Perhaps he was too far away and it was too dark outside to see anything. As he walked cautiously over to the bed with the bucket in his hand full of water, he noticed that she was not in her bed anymore.

That couldn't be good.

She grabbed him by the wrists and spun him around to look at her. As she did this, the water accidentally flew out of his hands and somehow managed to go down behind her back and splash water all over her, effectively soaking her to the core. Shrieking in indignation she skidded forward on the water on the floor and landed with a _thud_ on top of a now grinning Miroku.

The water worked.

With every good thing, however there had to be a balance. Kirara came bounding in to find her Mistress sputtering against the conflicting cold of the water and the heat of his chest, Sango glared down at Miroku.

Kirara sat and watched.

Not missing any opportunity, Miroku offered, "Here, let me warm you." At this announcement Sango was sure he was going to do something perverted and preparing herself for his assault, she poised herself for attack. Nevertheless, he only took off some of his robe and wrapped it around her shoulders and slid his arms around her waist. Feeling his warm chest against her face, Sango shivered.

It was not a cold kind of shiver.

When Sango was emitting her own kind of heat, Miroku decided that it was enough. Picking her up in his naked arms, he laid her gently in her bed, but she only scratched his arms and begged him in a muffled voice to stay near her, muttering something to Kirara, the cat sauntered slowly out. He tried to argue that he would be right next to her bed, but she would have none of that. Instead, she started clawing harder at his arms, drawing blood.

He didn't notice it.

The only thing Miroku noticed was the fire in her eyes and voice in the way she had talked to him. Perhaps this was wrong, but for one night, he could live with the consequences of the morning.

He didn't get a chance to lie down.

She had finally grabbed his shoulders and made him inadvertently fall down on top of her on the bed. Lifting up the sheet, he tried to get under the covers with Sango and succeeded but ended up even more in contact with her warm body. He wasn't sure how much of this he could take.

None.

As if finding himself, he reached his hands down and worked his hands up her thighs, under her clothes. Instead of slapping his hands away, Sango only gave involuntary shivers and mewed quietly.

This was wrong.

She was supposed to protest, but she didn't. _Hmm, _Miroku thought; _just what I need for my revenge. _He brought his head slowly down to her neck, allowing her time to back out, but to his enjoyment, she did not.

Instead, she lifted to him.

Kissing her neck gently, he stroked his hands further up her clothes. All these days, not knowing or exploring the depth of which she felt for him, he had stayed away, but now, now she was opening to him like a flower. She was going to give him her heart.

He vowed that.

He would have her heart and his revenge this way. He would restrain, even if it killed him inside and he had to suffer the pain of her not speaking to him for a while. Pulling back from her, he gently lifted himself off of her as she clawed at him to return to her.

He didn't.

Instead, he got out from under the covers and walked out.

Sango was heartbroken.


	3. The question and the rubber ducky

**Title: **Since Then  
**Author: **Rachel Elizabeth  
**Email: **ceramicprincess (at) fanfiction (dot) net  
**Status: **Tentatively ongoing  
**Genre: **Romance/Comedy/Drama  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Warning: **Spoilers—uh, sort of?  
**Summary: **The crux of Sango and Miroku's feelings lie perilously close to being destroyed. It was high time for some intervention, but who knew it would be a child?  
**Proviso:** Su-weet me. C'mon, you know you want to.  
**Author's Comments: **So, no, this story isn't dead, but I can't promise that I will be updating it any time soon; we'll just have to let it ride out and see. Since posting _That Bleeding Heart_ I realized how messed up all my stories were and decided to go back and change the format. So, wah-lah, a new format. On a positive note, however, I have been tentatively working on the new chapter to this story. That should excite you, right? Especially since I had contemplated throwing this entire story away.  
**Feedback: **So, at this point, it would be greatly appreciated to fuel the muse.**  
Dedication: **To Jane, for helping me more than she knows with this story.

* * *

—_The Customary Question and the Rubber Ducky—_

This would prove to be an interesting day; the sun was shining vibrantly and everything was quiet, for now, however when Sango would wake the morning would indisputably lose its loveliness. It was almost noon and Miroku didn't know what was keeping the taiji-ya so long to get up, she had never slept this late before and so, thinking he would ask Shippou to go and quietly see if Sango was still sleeping, he approached the happily eating Shippou. Shippou looked up at Miroku and paused eating, he quickly gulped down a piece of Ramen that was draped over his hand and looked up questioningly, and knowing from Miroku's expression that he wanted something.

Sango.

Shippou knew what had happened to her, but she had promised him chocolate from Kagome if he didn't divulge and he _loved_ chocolate, but Miroku looked almost frantic and when he was frantic . . . he was murderous. Before Shippou could even attempt to get away, however, Miroku had whispered, "Will you check on Sango to make sure she's okay?" Shippou was wondering absentmindedly why in the world he hadn't just asked Kirara, but he knew the answer to that.

The cat ostracized him.

After Miroku had left Sango the night before, she had cried herself to sleep, and had only permitted Kirara back into the room and she had slept with her all through the night. Now, Kirara was perched in front of the cabin, growling softly at Miroku.

Wonderful night.

Miroku couldn't think of anything better than sleeping on the hard ground with no blankets as he had the night before. If he had been smart, he would have lain with Sango. That, of course brought to mind the dirtiest images of what they would be _doing_ if he had stayed and he wanted to wait.

Why?

That was palpable, for the reason that he was dim-witted. For, if he had been _intelligent_ he wouldn't have asked her what was wrong in the first place, then however he would have never known what is was like to kiss her. He would live with sleeping on the ground forever for that one single moment they had shared in the cabin. That brought him back to _why_ he was sleeping in the cabin, which no one inexplicably knew who Kaede had summoned into the village and she wasn't allowing anyone entrance to her cabin or _Miroku's_.

He wasn't too apprehensive.

Shippou nodded vigorously and went bounding towards Sango's cabin, but when he got there a growling Kirara momentarily stopped him. Petting her distractedly on the head, he went around her and entered the cabin. When he came out a minute or so later, Miroku was hurriedly walking towards him.

"Well?"

"She does not feel well and is going to staying in her cabin today."

Miroku looked briefly distraught, but brightened and said, "Surely there is something I can do to help."

Shippou looked incredulously at him and mumbled under his breath, "Dontcha think you've done _enough_?"

Miroku was oblivious to that comment.

Miroku started bounding towards the cabin and even looked at Kirara murderously. Still, she did not move. Miroku tempted her with sweetmeat, candy, _anything_ that she would want if she would move and finally he told her that he could help the ailing Sango and Kirara looked temporarily quizzical, but let him pass. The cabin was not, however full of any sickness and it was apparent at the way Kirara roared loudly that she had not known anything either.

The cabin was empty.

Miroku bounded towards Kaede's hut, sick with worry over Sango and not thinking about her visitor. When he entered the cabin he was momentarily stunned. There, sitting on the floor next to Kaede was a demon.

This couldn't be good.

Miroku knew what the demon could do and that had to be significant in finding where Sango had gone.

She was a vengeance demon.

That, however, was not what Miroku was worried about. He was more worried that she could send people to any time and it was even rumored she could send people to new _dimensions._

And Sango was gone.

Without thinking of the consequences Miroku blurted out, "Where have you sent Sango?"

"This must be the dim-wit?" she asked casually, noting with approval how his eyes became larger. Motioning for him to sit, she announced, "Hi, I'm Althea. And Sango-chan wanted to be with Kagome and Inu Yasha, so I fixed the well so that she could travel."

"You _what_?" Miroku yelled, thinking that he had been around Inu Yasha for too long.

"Be quiet. You have the ability now to travel, too." However, at this he only stared harder at her disbelievingly.

His gaze was alarmingly undoing Althea, he had the most beautiful, intense gaze she'd ever encountered. At first she had been disappointed that Sango hadn't asked for some terrible plague to put on Miroku, but now she was glad she hadn't.

Miroku was much too handsome.

At Althea's gaze, he began to become interested. He realized vaguely that he should think before he opened his mouth, but he didn't, instead he blurted out, "Will you bear my child, Althea-chan?"

Althea was briefly stunned and thought nothing of Sango as she said, "Certainly." Stunned, Miroku looked at her perplexedly, unsure of how to proceed. Hadn't this been what he had wanted all along? She looked at him with a smile on her face and cocked a finger at him, motioning for him to follow her outside. Ever obedient, Miroku followed her all the way to the well and looked up at her face when they got to the edge of the well and puzzled. Pushing him against the side of the well, she took his lips in a kiss.

Miroku felt nothing.

After a minute of no response, Althea knew for a fact that he was Sango's body, mind and soul; she just hoped that Sango realized what a treasure she had found. Snorting decisively, she pushed Miroku into the well as hard as she could and as he went tumbling into the future, Althea despaired over _still_ not finding a mate.

"Althea, that was wrong," Kaede chastised as she walked back into the cabin.

"I had to see," she pouted, sitting down next to Kaede.

Kaede only briefly looked at her friend. It would be a while before she ever found a true mate if she was to carry on thusly. The whole reason why she had come was because she had heard there was a monk who would ask every female to bear his child and Althea was long overdue for a child of her own.

Loneliness was bearing down on her.

* * *

Had Althea pushed him into the well? He couldn't think of a better explanation than that as to why his backside was firmly on the ground. He didn't understand what was wrong with her, not five minutes ago she had agreed to bear his child and then . . . she had kissed him. 

Him—Miroku—and he had felt nothing.

Thinking that he was going to climb up the well and go back to Althea to try again, he started making his way out. When he reached the top of the well, however; it was not Feudal Japan. Stepping outside he was dismayed to realize that Althea had sent him to the future—Kagome's time.

Wonderful.

This was where he had been headed in the first place, to find Sango, but now that he was here he wasn't sure _where_ to go. He had never traveled to Kagome's time before and he had hoped that he would never have to.

The future was a crazy place.

Walking up to Kagome's shrine, he knocked on the door harshly, angry with himself that he had allowed Althea to affect him so. A young boy came barreling out the door with a loud "Aa!" and Miroku only barely managed to jump aside as the boy went running for cover.

Miroku then heard a sound he had many times before, "Souta you better stay out there! Leave Sango alone!"

Miroku laughed under his breath softly and continued into the house, thinking that Kagome wouldn't mind too much. When Kagome saw Miroku heading up the stairs she gasped and stated harshly, "You can't see her! You lout!"

Miroku was briefly put off.

"Kagome-chan is there somewhere that I could bathe? I smell of the bottom of the well and I am finding that it isn't such a pleasant smell." Kagome only looked stunned, but pointed him towards her bathroom.

She had thought he wanted to see Sango!

"Kagome Higurashi I want you down here, _now!_ Inu Yasha too! You both are in big trouble!_"_ Kagome and Inu Yasha briefly looked at each other, stunned, not sure what they had _both_ done to warrant such a response from Kagome's mother. They both started walking timidly down the stairs, leaving a grinning Miroku to tend his bath.

He quietly padded into the bathroom. Taking off his robes, he wasn't sure how to proceed into the bath; he started fiddling with the water handles.

Blue and red.

Sure that the knobs must be important, he first turned the blue all the way as far as it would go and was surprised as the water gushed out freezing ice water! Turning it back around to where it had been, he decided to try the red for warm water.

Red for hot.

It made sense, and he cursed himself slightly when he put his hand under the water, it was like water had been boiled over his hands. Trying to find the right knobs to push and pull was definitely a feat, but finally he found a temperature satisfying to him and he filled the tub. When he finally got in the tub he looked to the side of the tub for soap and instead found little green men that were made of something he'd never encountered before and they were all holding weapons of some sort, like soldiers. Looking on, there was a small yellow duck made of another odd material, but when he accidentally squeezed it, it made a horrible noise as though it were dying. He automatically dropped it in the water after he had squeezed it and to his amazement it _floated!_

The duck floated!

Thinking that he had found his 'inner child' he began to mercilessly hunt down the duck with the soldiers. That was how Sango walked in on him.

With plastic toys.

He was sitting in the tub with the rubber duck in front of him with a soldier in each hand zooming in on the attack on the oblivious ducky.

Sango gasped and asked, "Houshi-sama, what exactly are you doing?"

Miroku looked quickly up and gulped. How was he going to explain this one? His hands were extended in the air on either side of him and the duck was floating on the water in front of him. Thinking that perhaps he could act as if he wasn't playing with them, he dropped them quickly and said in that infuriating placid tone, "What are you speaking of Sango-chan?"

Trying to suppress her laughter, Sango picked up the toy that he had dropped outside next to the tub. She held it up for him to see and asked, "Well?"


	4. Drained Eternity

**Title: **Since Then  
**Author: **Rachel Elizabeth  
**Email: **ceramicprincess (at) fanfiction (dot) net  
**Status: **Tentatively ongoing  
**Genre: **Romance/Comedy/Drama  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Warning: **Spoilers—uh, sort of?  
**Summary: **The crux of Sango and Miroku's feelings lie perilously close to being destroyed. It was high time for some intervention, but who knew it would be a child?  
**Proviso:** Su-weet me. C'mon, you know you want to.  
**Author's Comments: **So, no, this story isn't dead, but I can't promise that I will be updating it any time soon; we'll just have to let it ride out and see. Since posting _That Bleeding Heart_ I realized how messed up all my stories were and decided to go back and change the format. So, wah-lah, a new format. On a positive note, however, I have been tentatively working on the new chapter to this story. That should excite you, right? Especially since I had contemplated throwing this entire story away.  
**Feedback: **So, at this point, it would be greatly appreciated to fuel the muse.**  
Dedication: **To Jane, for helping me more than she knows with this story.  
**Chapter Notes: **If you are still looking for the lemon in this chapter, it is still under "tornempathy" at AFF. Feel free to go and browse _Since Then_ over there.

* * *

— _Drained eternity —_

Sango looked expectantly at Miroku waiting for him to say that he was bored and had begun to play with the soldiers, however; he never uttered a word. Sango supposed he was too embarrassed and she could see why, she would _never_ have expected him to be playing with Souta's toy _soldiers_ and his rubber _ducky_! "Quit playing with plastic!" She mumbled through her laughter.

She started for the toy in his hand.

However, the problem with leaning over the tub to grab the toy from the hand farthest away from her was that, she was looking _straight down into the tub!_ Wonderful.

A full view of Miroku under the water.

That of course, was not the worst of it, for it was a common occurrence that when people took baths they did so _naked._

And boy was Miroku naked.

At that thought, she realized that her foot had started to slip on the little puddle of water next to the tub and she was falling into the tub face first! Before her face even managed to touch the water, though she was lifted from her backside back into a standing position. Miroku had used the opportunity to grab her butt and yanked her in an upright position with him standing in the tub.

"Pervert!" She slapped him, effectively allowing him to fall back into the water with her attached to his arm.

They ended up in a jumble.

Sango had fallen on top of Miroku in the tub and her feet were hanging over the edge, the only part of her that was _not_ soaked. Miroku was buried almost completely under the water, save for his head, which was completely _out_ of the water, breathing heavily. Sango didn't think for a minute that anything could be more embarrassing than this moment. She was head first on his chest in the water, her feet dangling over the side like a lunatic.

She should never think out of turn.

For as soon as she thought it couldn't become any worse, Inu Yasha and Kagome came barreling into the room with worried looks on their faces. When Inu Yasha saw what was before him, he did the unexpected; he laughed out loud. Kagome looked at him and was smiling with a hand over her mouth, but Sango could hear the giggles. Silently, they backed out of the room, so as to not disturb the _lovers._ That was what they had mumbled under their breath.

_Lovers!_

As if Miroku and she had . . . had . . . Sango couldn't even think of a delicate term for the word! Miroku had heard it to, for he was grinning lecherously and leering at her now wet form. Miroku used that opportunity to grab Sango's waist and pull her full into the tub and come crashing up against him.

He took his chance.

He took her lips in a fierce kiss that seared Sango's soul and made her realize that there would be no other man in the world that could make her feel as Miroku did at this moment.

She loved him.

She was also scared out of her mind, for to fall in love with this lecherous monk meant a woman's head on a platter. For him to eat and discard, or more accurately for him to touch and get bored with. Sango wasn't sure how she had so quickly fallen in love with the monk, sure after the Shikon was fixed she had promised herself that she was on her way, but after that it seemed so natural to stay in the village with Kagome and Inu Yasha and Miroku.

His hands started to wander.

However, Sango didn't mind much, for to feel his hands and the coolness of the water was an amazing contrast and her body heated.

Slowly, he lifted her by the waist and carried her into Kagome's room not caring anymore who could walk in on them. It would have been better in his opinion if they had waited until they were back in the village, but Miroku's rational thoughts and plans had fled out the window. Leaving him to debate how he was going to bring his child up with.

Sango.

His child.

Their child.

He liked the sound of that so much better, Sango and his child, the one created by their love. He quietly tore off some of her robes and started kissing down her neck, tasting every drop of water mixed with her flesh. It was absolutely intoxicating.

"Miroku," Sango breathily mumbled and Miroku could feel his veins explode into fire. She had said his name; with such longing and desire that there was no way that she wouldn't bear his child. He felt as though he was floating on air, so happy was he.

She, she was the epitome of his happiness.

* * *

Kagome and Inu Yasha had been sitting downstairs for over two hours waiting for Sango and Miroku to walk down, but either had yet to stir from upstairs. It also wasn't bothering Inu Yasha much that he didn't have to see them together, it meant more time alone with his mate. He looked at her and growled. 

_Oh, boy, _Kagome thought.

She knew what that meant, especially when he got that little gleam in his eye. Kagome giggled and ran to the well, jumping in. Nearly caught up with her, Inu Yasha jumped in after her and away they went.

* * *

Sango opened her eyes and groaned a bit and flexed her muscles. She felt sore, but it was definitely in all the _right_ places. She had felt gloriously spent and wonderfully alive in Miroku's arms. However, she worried that Kagome and Inu Yasha had come to check on them . . . and had seen them . . . naked. 

She groaned out loud.

Miroku opened one eye and looked down at her and smiled sleepily and asked, "What is it, my love?"

_Love._

Sango could definitely get use to the idea of Miroku calling her pet names. "Have you seen Kagome or Inu Yasha?"

Miroku thought for a moment.

It was queer that the couple hadn't come searching for them, but then again, it wasn't, for Miroku knew what they could be doing. So instead of voicing his opinions he just shrugged, not too worried about the newly made mates. It was time for Miroku to be heading home; he needed to see to some things with his family, his mother would want to know that he had found his wife.

Sango had already fallen back asleep.

He grabbed a piece of paper off of Kagome's desk and wrote Sango a brief note explaining why he had left. It would be easier leaving a note then trying to explain it to Sango who could inevitably keep him here longer. Not that he would have minded, but he needed to see his parents.

With a last glimpse at Sango, he turned and left.

When Miroku got to the village on the other side of the well he immediately went to Kaede's hut and told her that he would be leaving and if Inu Yasha or Kagome were looking for him, he'd be back in a few days. Kaede only nodded; Althea looked perplexed. So she silently waved for him to follow her outside and when they reached a quiet spot she asked, "Why are you going?"

He looked at her strangely. Did it matter? "I have to see my mother."

Althea looked pointedly at him and walked closer to him. Miroku sweat dropped; he wasn't sure what was going on, but he knew that he didn't like it.

Sango laughed quietly reading Miroku's note. She was sort of hurt that he hadn't wanted to take her with him to meet his parents, but then again Miroku always did do things backwards. Groping and _then_ getting to know someone.

She smiled slightly.

It was so like Miroku to put everything that he had been through on his own shoulders and not let anyone help him at all. _Ah, well, I better go back to Kaede's hut before Inu Yasha and Kagome _really _start worrying about me,_ she thought idly.

No . . . no . . . it wasn't happening . . . not so soon after they had made love . . . he had called her 'my love'. The one thing in the world that she had braced herself against was his roaming hands, but she had thought that it was all over with after they had made love.

She had been mistaken.

Because there in front of her was Miroku holding onto Althea's backside as if for dear life. They both didn't notice Sango in the background.

It couldn't get much more obvious then that.

How could she have so easily let her guard down against the one person she knew could hurt her the most? Well, it wasn't going to ever happen again. She felt the hot dash of tears draining down her face and her heart constricted painfully in her chest but she couldn't feel anything at the moment. It was as though life had fallen away and the only thing that had been left was her heart and it was being pulled in twenty different directions and there was nothing that anyone could do about it. Her breathing had just stopped in her chest and was confined there, as though for eternity. She put a hand before her face to see if she was still real and through her tear stained cheeks she looked at the fingers that she could not feel anymore. Her whole body had become numb.

She should have left.

When they had completed the jewel, she should have left because she knew in the back of her mind that Miroku was never going to be hers.

A quiet sound in the background pulled at her.

"Sango?"

It was Kagome, and thank the Gods that it hadn't been anyone else. When Kagome saw the tears on Sango's face she cringed. She too saw what was happening right in front of their faces and she knew what had happened with Sango and Miroku at her house last night. She also couldn't believe that Miroku would do something this stupid. She was fed up with his shenanigans!

"Miroku!" she yelled.

Althea and Miroku broke out of each other's arms and stared at Kagome. Kagome didn't notice that when she had turned her head to say something to Miroku, Sango had fled, but it didn't matter anymore. Even if Sango wasn't there Kagome was going to have a _long_ discussion with him.

At least Miroku had the decency to look guilty and walk away from Althea to talk to Kagome. But when he got there Kagome did something that she hadn't done in a _long_ time.

She slapped him clear across his face.

The sound echoed through the forest and as if Kagome had been in trouble, Inu Yasha came bounding through the woods hell-bent on destruction if someone had dared to touch his mate. When he saw the handprint on Miroku's face he roared and started charging at him only to be stopped by Kagome's hand.

"He never touched me."

"Damn right you didn't, bozo." He grabbed Kagome's waist and pulled her back against him but he could feel the fury in her. "Kagome?" he asked, a little stunned. Her miko energy felt as though it was going to explode at any minute.

She lashed out.

"You _idiot!_ You complete, utter _moron._ Have you no regard for anyone's feelings except your own?" Kagome asked, not understanding his actions at all. She had thought with a certainty that he loved Sango but when she had seen him gripping Althea she had felt sick to her stomach.

His placid face had returned.

"Sango-chan is still young," he answered calmly. How could he answer that? He couldn't even begin to tell Kagome that what she had seen had not been his doing, but no doubt she would not believe him with his background.

For the first time ever he cursed his hands.

Inu Yasha was smirking and Miroku did not like that look at all from the hanyou. Kagome had whispered something in his ear and he had looked at Miroku coldly and then she had said something else that Miroku couldn't hear.

That was when he had smiled.

He was sharpening his claws on the tree bark nearest to them. He then slowly started advancing towards Miroku.

* * *

A baby. That was all she wanted, but she had known that what she had done was wrong, but she couldn't help it anymore. She was desperate for a child of her own. The loneliness of her job was killing her and to have a child would be a miracle. 

She needed a child.

She needed someone to love her, but she couldn't continue acting the way that she did. It was ruining everyone _else's _lives around her and she couldn't deal with hurting people that Kaede called friends.

She had to explain what happened.

Before she knew what she was about she had rushed outside, only to be greeted by the sight of Inu Yasha coming slowly toward Miroku with his claws extended and that kill-glint in his eyes.

"Wait!" Althea yelled, clearly stunning everyone.

Inu Yasha growled low in his throat; he had been waiting for a chance to tear something up and if it was because of Miroku then he was all for it, but when Althea came into the scene and yelled at them to stop, Kagome had held up her hand to him and asked him to wait a minute to hear what she had to say.

How obnoxious.

He could have had the monk obliterated by now if Althea hadn't stuck her nose in their business. She was the reason this was happening in the first place; she had instigated all this havoc between Miroku and Sango.

She needed to leave.

"It was me; I forced Miroku into what happened. I caught him unawares and took advantage of him." At that announcement she had Miroku stuttering.

Male pride and all that.

Inu Yasha wasn't convinced, but Kagome looked like she _wanted _to believe what Althea was saying it was just hard to what with Miroku's past and all.

"Sango!" Kagome yelled, desperate to find her friend before she did something that she would regret. "Sango!"

"Sango!" Inu Yasha roared, becoming worried that the gang had not found her yet. She was nowhere to be found. They had been searching for the past three days and there was no sign of the taiji-ya and everyone was worried.

Especially Miroku.

He didn't eat, sleep or anything since Sango's disappearance and the gang was starting to worry that he would become sick, but he didn't let anyone near him to help him. Even Shippou was feeling the distinct loss of his friend Kirara. Everyone was feeling the loss of their friend. Whether they admitted to it as Miroku did or not.

Inu Yasha came back into the little hut and said dejectedly, "I'm sorry, Miroku."

She was gone, because of him.

Gone.

And there wasn't anything that he could do about it. _Farewell sweet,_ Miroku thought, wrenching his heart in half.

From that point on, he never touched another soul.

Woman, man, child.


	5. The Silent Little Girl

**Title: **Since Then  
**Author: **Rachel Elizabeth  
**Email: **ceramicprincess (at) fanfiction (dot) net  
**Status: **Tentatively ongoing  
**Genre: **Romance/Comedy/Drama  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Warning: **Spoilers—uh, sort of?  
**Summary: **The crux of Sango and Miroku's feelings lie perilously close to being destroyed. It was high time for some intervention, but who knew it would be a child?  
**Proviso:** Su-weet me. C'mon, you know you want to.  
**Author's Comments: **So, no, this story isn't dead, but I can't promise that I will be updating it any time soon; we'll just have to let it ride out and see. Since posting _That Bleeding Heart_ I realized how messed up all my stories were and decided to go back and change the format. So, wah-lah, a new format. On a positive note, however, I have been tentatively working on the new chapter to this story. That should excite you, right? Especially since I had contemplated throwing this entire story away.  
**Feedback: **So, at this point, it would be greatly appreciated to fuel the muse.**  
Dedication: **To Jane, for helping me more than she knows with this story.

* * *

—_The silent little girl—_

_Nine Years Later . . ._

Sango looked at her husband on his deathbed. She had waited for this moment with a feeling of dread that had snuck into her heart unawares. She looked at the pale man on the bed before her and she couldn't believe that after all these years her worst nightmare was coming true.

Alone . . . again.

"Mom!" A little girl came running into the house sporting a cut the size of a hiraikotsu. The cut was from her knee to her ankle, but she wasn't crying. Usual.

Mira never cried.

She had watched too often her mother crying and even at her tender age, had decided that she didn't want to.

A child's will.

"What happened, dear?" she asked, pulling out some herbs from the cabinet to help her daughter. It seemed that her daughter could get into more trouble than China had rice.

"We were playin' tag and Horitsu was it and he came after me and I ran as hard as I could and I tripped over some sticks 'cause I wasn't watchin' and I fell right onto some rocks. It hurt real bad, but I didn't cry!" the little girl proudly announced.

"Well, next time watch where you're going, alright?"

Suddenly the mood changed and Sango could feel her child look a little left of her so that she could see her daddy. "Is he gonna die?"

Sango forced herself not to cry. How such an innocent question could wrench her heart, she knew not. "When the Gods decide to take him, yes, dear."

The little girl looked up at her mother. She didn't know what to say, there really wasn't anything for her to say. She had never spent too much time with her Papa, he was always hunting demons and her mom was always at home ready for him to come home. She still loved her Papa dearly, but she was closer to her mom than anyone.

"Sango," the child's Papa called, in a scraggly voice she barely recognized.

"Yes, dear? Are you okay? Can I get you anything—?"

"Yes. There is something I want you to do. Mira, will you go outside and play for awhile so that mama and papa can talk?"

Mira looked skeptical, but did as she was told.

He looked at Sango and muttered, "I want you to promise me something."

"Anything," Sango announced, without hesitation.

"When I leave this place, I want you to leave this town. Go and find Mira's true father and love him the way that you have loved me these past years." Sango tried to interrupt, but he was going to have none of that he only held up a hand and stated, calmly, "Please. That child was made from love; she deserves to know who her real father is. I am weak and cannot force you to do this, Sango. I am trusting that you will take my advice, a child should never grow up without her father." With that, he closed his eyes and Sango swore that he had timed it perfectly.

For he never awoke again.

Sango vowed that she would be strong and that she wouldn't let this get her down. She tangled with herself over what to do about Miroku. She wasn't sure that she was ready for him to find out that he was a father.

He probably wasn't mature enough.

That man never thought about anyone except his lusty desires to grab at a woman, and boy did that tick Sango off. She had thought that she could trust him she had even believed him when he had said that he was done groping other women.

He had said he loved her.

Moreover, she had believed him, so what did that make her? Obviously, a complete fool, for only a fool would love someone as jaded as Miroku. Or it could be someone who thought that they could turn him into a saint, which wasn't possible. So how was she just going to go crawling back to all her friends after leaving them for nine years?

She didn't know.

Sango supposed that it was better late than never to go back to her friends. She was sure that they were probably worried sick about her, leaving the way she had, but seeing him with that . . . that . . . woman—had distressed her to the point of no return. She would just make sure that she didn't let him into her heart again.

She would not love Miroku.

* * *

Miroku was proving to be more trouble than he was worth to Kagome. She had watched him finally almost grow out of his shell only to be put back into once again by a dream of her coming home. _I mean really,_ Kagome thought, _what kind of monk has _dreams?

Stupid dreams.

"Miroku, even if she does come back you don't want her to see you like that, do you?" Kagome coaxed, putting her hand inside his hand and urging him back outside. He was like a wounded puppy. "You can't do anything from inside that hut, I mean really."

Miroku looked at Kagome.

Kagome could tell he was in one of those moods where there was no possible way that he was going to say anything to her about going outside his hut. "Mama!" a little voice cried from outside.

"Yes, yes I'm coming," Kagome muttered under her breath, sending Miroku one last longing look. He didn't look at her he just continued to sit and stare into the nothingness of his little hut. At least he had progressed some, and had started going outside once or twice a week. However, Kagome doubted that after the dream that he had had about Sango coming back he was going to be going outside much at all.

She sighed.

It was such a waste of a wonderful man, and Kagome cursed Sango every day for the man that she had unknowingly created. If only Sango had stayed around to let Miroku explain, she would had realized that it was not his fault that the kiss had happened. Although Kagome doubted that Althea would have lived very long, not that Kagome was altogether against that idea.

Althea.

That witch had decided that after she caused the tumult that she had that she had better leave. Which was probably the smartest thing that she had done since she had gotten to this village. Kagome realized that she wasn't really mad at Sango after all these years; she could see what it may feel like to watch the one you love kiss someone else. She had dealt with it for years with Kikyou. It was a scary thought to think where Sango could possibly be after all these years and how she was faring.

Nine years.

It never seemed like time had passed that much since Sango had disappeared. She didn't understand the relationship between Sango and Miroku that much, but she did understand one thing between them; they had loved for a long time and both had been hurt by Althea's trickery.

Life would never be fair.

Kagome realized belatedly that despite all her protests against Miroku's staying in his hut, she really couldn't blame him. How would she have felt to have Inu Yasha sneakily taken from her? Murder would have been on her brain and she would have seen red. The whole situation reminded Kagome of an American song that went "try to solve the puzzles in your own sweet time".

Perhaps that was just it.

Kagome just needed to give Miroku time to adjust, but he had nine years to adjust to the departure of Sango. It was time for him to move on or for him to go and look for her. _That's it!_ Kagome thought excitedly. Instead of sitting around like a bum and doing nothing with his life he needed to go out and embrace life and search for Sango. The question was; how would Kagome get him to go look for the one person that he would ever love when he believed that she was coming here? Maybe Kagome could wait just one more week and see if Sango did show up and if not, she would get Inu Yasha involved to make Miroku leave this place and search for her.

There was nothing else to be done.

"Mama, mama! There's a little girl outside the village and she's crying!" Kagome looked at her son. If this was another one of his pranks, he was going to be in major trouble when she got back. The boy was ten years old and thought it funny to make his mama run of and do silly things to play tricks on her. At Kagome's look her son sputtered, "This is not a trick, mama! She's crying real hard!"

And so the two ran to where the girl was.

Sure enough, there was an adorable little girl sitting beside a rock, crying her little heart out as if she had lost her best friend. Kagome cautiously approached the girl. "Hi, I'm Kagome. Are you lost?"

The girl looked up but said nothing.

"It sure is getting dark out here. We wouldn't want you to have to spend the night in the dark, would you like to come and stay with me and tell us what happened? I have some warm food in my hut if you would like." The girl looked skeptical, but instead she got shakily to her feet and looked back and silent tears started running down her face, but she nodded.

There were no words from this girl.

Later in the evening when Inu Yasha and Miroku came in for dinner, they saw the little girl and inquired about her. Kagome shrugged her shoulders and told them all she knew, but also told them that the girl refused to speak to anyone.

She wouldn't even tell them her name.

So instead of upsetting the girl anymore than she already was, they didn't ask, waiting until the girl had some food in her and perhaps some sleep.

Miroku looked at the child.

The little girl with black hair and brown eyes reminded him of someone he had known, but he couldn't quite place who it could be. She sure was an adorable little child. She looked at them all as if she was trying to place them in her head as people that wouldn't harm her, but she still was skeptical of them.

Kagome tried talking to her again.

"So, you must be a brave little girl to walk by yourself in the woods."

The girl looked on at Kagome but didn't say anything.

Inu Yasha looked at Kagome and frowned. It was unusual that Kagome couldn't talk to anyone; she had a soothing voice and was usually the kindest out of the group. Inu Yasha talk to her softly, "Very brave. I'm sure you're very strong."

The girl was surprised at the new voice.

She turned her head to look at Inu Yasha and almost like a puppy, cocked her head to the side and regarded him with unveiled curiosity. Instead of saying anything, she gave Inu Yasha a glance and raised the side of her mouth to look like she had smiled at him.

Inu Yasha knew better.

_Well, isn't this interesting,_ Miroku thought. The little girl is more intelligent than she is putting on. "Excuse my companions they're just nervous about you. I'm Miroku. You are a very beautiful little girl."

She looked at Miroku.

Instead of saying something, she walked up to him and he could see tears glistening in her eyes. She slowly traced his face with her tiny hand and she must have decided that she liked him, for she snuggled in his lap and put her head against his chest and instantly fell asleep.

Miroku laughed.

"I told you, all women love me." Kagome looked surprised at his comment. He hadn't joked with anyone in years. She hadn't thought that his sense of humor would ever return. Even Inu Yasha looked at Kagome and raised his eyebrow.

This was definitely unlike Miroku.

* * *

The next couple of days were a trial period for Kagome and Inu Yasha. They understood Miroku's pain and everything, but they did not understand how he had attached himself to that little girl so quickly. Everything that they had tried to get Miroku out of his hut had never worked, but with the help of one little girl, she had him laughing and coming out everyday to play with her.

There was only one drawback.

It was as if the little girl had decided to take a vow of silence. She never spoke to anyone, but to Miroku she used hand signals to show what she wanted and he always complied.

This proved Kagome's theory.

They Gods definitely worked in mysterious ways. Everyday Miroku and the little girl would go down to the river and play and pick flowers but everyday seemed to be worse and worse for the little girls' silence. The more she played with Miroku the less and less she talked to anyone else.

Kagome needed to speak to him.

If he was the only person that the girl was going to talk to, then she needed Miroku to find out about how she had gotten here and why. She wanted to know the little girls' name and where her parents were. There were a million questions that Kagome had stored inside of herself that she wanted to ask the little girl.

She just needed the girl to talk.

The only person that seemed to even be able to reach the little girl was Miroku, so he needed to do something before the little girl decided that talking was completely unnecessary.

Kagome wouldn't let that happen.

She couldn't allow that beautiful girl to waste her life by not speaking to anyone. Gods, it was a hard decision to make, but she was going to have to get Inu Yasha to bully Miroku into making the girl talk. She just hoped that she wouldn't push Miroku back to the way he use to be in the past with out the girl.

"Inu Yasha."

Inu Yasha turned around at Kagome's voice and looked at her quizzically. Kagome looked at Inu Yasha sadly and said, "We have to fix this." Inu Yasha cocked his head to the side and puzzled.

"This situation."

"Ah," he started, "Miroku and that girl."

"I need you to do me a favor."

He wiggled his eyebrow at her suggestively. "Favor, eh?"

Kagome blushed and stated, "Not _that_ you perv! Sheesh, you're just as bad at Miroku use to be." He sighed dejectedly. "I need you to first _talk_ to Miroku into making the girl tell about herself to him and if he refuses to ask because of his pride or something stupid, it doesn't matter what, then bully him."

Inu Yasha perked up.

"You actually _want_ me to bully him? This is serious, eh?"

Kagome nodded. "This can't go on how it has been. That little girl hasn't had anyone come to look for her and I'm sure she's not just _parentless."_

Inu Yasha nodded. "Understood."

Inu Yasha started walking down to Miroku's hut and saw the little girl running towards him smiling. He grabbed her playfully and swung her in the air.

She giggled like mad and looked at him.

"Will you go to Kagome's hut so that I may speak to Miroku?"

She nodded her understanding and left.

Miroku came barreling around the corner of some huts and would have run into Inu Yasha had Inu Yasha not grabbed him beforehand. "We need to speak."

Miroku nodded and looked around him.

"Where did M go?"

Inu Yasha looked surprised. "You know her name and didn't _tell us_?"

Miroku looked at him like he was an idiot. "No, you idiot, I don't. She just spelled out the first letter of her name for me so that I could call her _something_. What do you want?" Miroku asked, impolitely.

"That girl. Kagome and I are worried. We need you to find out more information about her parents and things." Miroku nodded his understand and Inu Yasha was slightly peeved that he wasn't going to get the chance to beat up the monk.

"I understand. I am trying, but every time I ask, she has something she wants to show me and it's usually nonsense. So I have to tread carefully." Miroku sighed; this little girl was definitely a complication in his life he had never expected.

"Thank you." Inu Yasha said uncomfortably.

Miroku nodded his head once and ran in the direction that M had gone. Inu Yasha watched as he went running into Kagome's hut. Kagome was sitting by a fire cooking Ramen grinning at the little girl every now and then and getting a small giggle would be her reward.

Kagome definitely liked this child.

Not only was the child intelligent, she was beautiful. She reminded her of someone, but Kagome couldn't quite place who it was. _Isn't that always the case?_ Kagome thought amusedly. The little girl sniffed the air and smiled at Kagome.

The food did smell wonderful, Inu Yasha admitted.

Inu Yasha looked at Kagome and smiled as he walked into the hut. Miroku looked at the little girl and sat down and opened his arms to her. Gleefully, she ran into his arms and plopped her butt into his lap. Miroku whispered some soothing words to the girl to calm her down and Kagome handed him and M a bowl.

Miroku would make a wonderful father.

Kagome cringed, she couldn't believe she had thought that and she would _never_ express _that_ thought outside of her head. It was hard enough that Sango had left as she had. She didn't need to put more strain and heartache in Miroku's heart.

Miroku finished his Ramen and quietly contemplated the little girl. Gently, he lifted her off his lap and sat her in front of him. So as not to be conspicuous Kagome and Inu Yasha looked at something other than Miroku and M. Kagome and Inu Yasha's child Soruko looked at his mother and crossed his eyes, he didn't understand what was going on, but it didn't matter.

Miroku asked M gently, "M, we are very worried about you." The girl nodded at this and continued to listen aptly. "It would be of great help if you would tell us about your parents and your name."

Tears started rolling down her cheeks when she said quietly, "My name is Mira. My papa died recently and my mama's name is Sango. Sh---she got taken by the bad men and told me to look for the man named Miroku. I was alone for days and I was so scared that the bad men would come back for me."

Miroku choked on his Ramen.


	6. Separate Lives

**Title: **Since Then  
**Author: **Rachel Elizabeth  
**Email: **ceramicprincess (at) fanfiction (dot) net  
**Status: **Tentatively ongoing  
**Genre: **Romance/Comedy/Drama  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Warning: **Spoilers—uh, sort of?  
**Summary: **The crux of Sango and Miroku's feelings lie perilously close to being destroyed. It was high time for some intervention, but who knew it would be a child?  
**Proviso:** Su-weet me. C'mon, you know you want to.  
**Author's Comments: **So, no, this story isn't dead, but I can't promise that I will be updating it any time soon; we'll just have to let it ride out and see. Since posting _That Bleeding Heart_ I realized how messed up all my stories were and decided to go back and change the format. So, wah-lah, a new format. On a positive note, however, I have been tentatively working on the new chapter to this story. That should excite you, right? Especially since I had contemplated throwing this entire story away.  
**Feedback: **So, at this point, it would be greatly appreciated to fuel the muse.  
**Dedication: **To Jane, for helping me more than she knows with this story.  
**Chapter Notes: **No,this is not turning into a songfic, I just thought the song went nicely with the whole story, and this chapter, in particular. If you'd like to get the song (I do highly recommend it), it's entitled _Separate Lives _by Phil Collins.

* * *

—_Separate Lives—_

You called me from the room in your hotel  
All full of romance for someone that you met  
And telling me how sorry you were, leaving so soon  
And that you miss me sometimes when you're alone in your room  
Do I feel lonely too?

You have no right to ask me how I feel  
You have no right to speak to me so kind  
We can't go on just holding on to time  
Now that we're living separate lives.

Well I held on to let you go  
And if you lost your love for me, well you never let it show  
There was no way to compromise  
So now we're living  
Separate lives.

Ooh, it's so typical, love leads to isolation

So you build that wall  
Yes, you build that wall

And you make it stronger.

Well you have no right to ask me how I feel  
You have no right to speak to me so kind  
Some day I might find myself looking in your eyes  
But for now, we'll go on living separate lives  
Yes for now, we'll go on living separate lives  
Separate lives.

_In times of crisis the only thing that seemed reasonable was . . . to _run!

_In Mira's case, she had run. She had run until her little legs could not run anymore and she thought that she would collapse from fatigue. _What a way to go,_ she thought, sinking into depression. _

_That's how they had found her, but she still remembered . . . _

_She remembered how each night that her mother and she traveled Sango became more drawn into herself. To Mira, this was the worst kind of rejection possible, but the next morning it seemed as though her mother had changed into a completely different person. Mira knew in her heart that this depression had nothing to do with herself, but it was hard to travel knowing that every step that you take caused your only mother, your flesh and blood, a pain so great that she was prone to crying herself to sleep at night._

_Mira wasn't completely ignorant as to what had gone on. Many times she had heard her father and her mother speaking about Mira meeting her real father. Mira had known, and though she would like to believe otherwise, (for she loved _her _papa dearly!) she knew that the man who fathered her was not the man that she had called papa for the past nine years of her life. She knew it, but she had never wanted to believe that it could be true. And after staying with the man that was called Miroku, the pretty lady, Kagome, and her mate, (and their kid!) she had grown unavoidably attached to them. This was not how it was suppose to be! Her father had _abandoned_ her mother in her time of need and now the only daughter of that mother was betraying her. However, whenever Mira looked at that innocent face of Miroku's she couldn't—no, wouldn't—believe that he had run out on someone just as wonderful as her mother. It didn't seem plausible to the nine year old that two people who had obviously had a past that they both didn't want to share with her, could abandon each other so recklessly._

_Finally, when her mother and she had been only a day away from the village where Miroku and the other's were, her mothers steps had slowed and she had started to sway from side to side. Mira only looked at her mother and tears started welling up in her eyes. Time and time again Mira asked her mother if she would like for her to just go on by herself, but each time Sango only shook her head and moved forward. In the end when they had indeed reached the outside of the village, Sango's tears had poured freely from her eyes, and Mira was at a loss as to what she should do._

_After that, things were a little blurry as to what exactly happened. Mira remembered clearly seeing a pack of soldiers coming towards them and she remembered their leering faces towards her mother and her mother screaming at Mira to run and look for a man name 'Miroku' but after that things seemed a little hazy. One of the men had approached her and knocked her upside her head with the hilt of his sword and she had been unconscious for quite a number of days. By the time she had awoken her mother was gone and she had been left to deal with herself. For days it seemed as though she stayed by the brook and washed and cleaned herself. Whatever food she found was scarce and she barely ate enough of it to sustain her for half of a day. However, with each passing day it became more and more clear to her that the last thing her mother would have her do was sit around and be saddened._

_When the tides of depression were at their highest, Mira decided that it was time for her to find the man Miroku who had been her true father. If she could understand why he had left her mother and if he was worthy Mira would allow him to help her look for her mother. Mira didn't even know what she was _saying_ anymore. There was no way that she would refuse any kind of help in looking for her mother._

_However, when she got to the village with Miroku and the others, she found that she had lost the will to speak to anyone. The guy, Miroku, was a very nice and funny person and it was easy to get attached to him. She could even tell that she kind of looked like him, though she would have never told anyone that. For she loved her papa dearly! The more days passed, the more Mira realized that though she didn't want to speak of it, she had to let someone know that her mother was gone. The reaction to her statement that her mother was gone was a surprising one, in fact. Mira watched closely as the man, Miroku's eyes grew round with worry. It was obvious from his expression that he didn't know that Sango had had a child or he was just worried that she may be hurt . . . or worse. The latter thought probably crossed his mind before the first and Mira realized that her feelings had been hurt._

_Through the time that she had been staying with the nice people, it never once crossed her mind that perhaps Miroku did not even know that he had had a child, but when she had told Kagome the news of Sango, her mother, it was clear from the reactions that no one had expected that she was related to Miroku. Mira couldn't tell if Miroku liked this last thought or not, but it was clear that he was ready to help Sango. Perhaps in time, after they made sure that her mom was okay and that everything was as it should be, Mira could bring the subject back up with Miroku._

_However, when the nice people started to search for her mom, (leaving her at home!), Mira realized that she was more and more curious to know if Miroku could even love her like a father should. It was disheartening to think that her real father didn't want any kids, and even more disturbing was the fact that he never spoke to Mira about what she had announced to him. Perhaps Mira was wrong. Maybe the thought that she was his child had never crossed his mind. Maybe he thought that her mom had remarried after being with Miroku and he thought to just protect her mom's child. She didn't care, the only thing that mattered now was the fact that she was his child and no matter if hell came to swallow her whole, she would let him know what she thought. She had to know. She loved her papa dearly, but if this man was her real father, she had a right to love him as well!_

_

* * *

_

"Ano . . . " Mira mumbled, looking up from the dish that had been served to her. Miroku glanced at her and saw her faced wrinkled with consternation.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, concerned for her welfare and unsure of how to proceed. He had never dealt very well with children and though this child wasn't his, she was still a part of Sango. This fact more than any other made him love her.

"Can . . . I ask you something? Privately?" she whispered, dismayed to realize that Kagome and Inuyasha had stopped eating to look up and listen to the conversation.

"Sure." At this, Mira stood up and held out her hand to Miroku, propelled by the idea that he would finally, finally know everything that he needed to. Maybe then Mira could know what it was like to be loved by her real father.

"I—ah, well it's just kinda stuffy in there," Mira announced to him, crinkling her nose at the way that she was prolonging the encounter. Didn't she want to know what his reaction would be? Didn't she care at all that she had found her real papa? Every day at home she would wonder why her father had blonde hair and blue eyes, why it was that her mom always spoke in whispered tones to her papa about her real father. So why was it now that she had her real father in front of her she continued to be at a loss for words? Why couldn't she come out and say what she had always wanted to say when she met her true papa?

"Mira? Is something wrong?" Miroku asked, worried at the look that had crossed the child's features. The more he stared at the child the more he realized every day that she looked so much like her mother it was almost painful for him. The only thought that could even rouse him from his depression was the fact that Sango had found someone who had truly loved and cared for her and given her the child that she had always wanted.

Mira faced him again and looked deep into his eyes. "I—No. Nothing." She couldn't tell him. She had never felt the sharp edge of rejection and she did not want to feel it with the man that was her real father. Maybe after they found Sango, maybe than.

She couldn't betray her mother.


End file.
